Page 45 of Batter Up!

With my ex, Aubree, she would have never thought a picnic in a pick-up truck would be a good date. She wanted fancy restaurants and dates at a local place that had karaoke for minors. I needed to stop comparing Molly and Aubree because they were as different as night and day. The only similarity was their hair color.

“You know I’ve always had a thing for redheads,” I told her as I squeezed her hand and turned off the main road onto the side road leading to the lake.

“Oh, yeah? Well, then, I’m thankful for being a redhead.” She twirled a piece of her red hair with the hand that wasn’t holding mine. “I’ve always had a thing for guys with green eyes.”

I had to laugh and squeezed her hand. “Well, I’m glad I have green eyes then!”

When we pulled up to the lake, I jumped out and hurried around to help her get down from the truck so she wouldn’t hurt herself. Really, I just liked having her in my arms. I pulled her down from the seat and twirled her around, loving the sound of her giggle.

“This is so beautiful!” She exclaimed as she walked to the front of the truck to take in the view of the lake surrounded by big trees. A gravel path wound around the lake, and a sign close to us advertised fishing was allowed but no swimming. “I guess that rules out skinny dipping.”

I let out a loud chuckle and rubbed her shoulders. “It just means we can’t get caught.”

“I’ve never been skinny dipping,” she admitted. “But it might be a little cold in the water this time of year.”

“Are you cold?” I asked.

She leaned her body back farther and sank into me. “No, I’m good. I’m just saying the water would be cold.”

I nodded and kissed the top of her head. We sat and watched as a few ducks swam around

“Are you ready to eat?” I asked.

“Let’s see what you brought.”

I pulled out my makeshift picnic basket from the bed of the truck that included a small cooler and a laundry basket. “Sorry, it’s not anything fancy.”

She just laughed. “It works for me.”

I pulled out bottled water, ham, three types of sliced cheese, grapes, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, cucumber, onion, and string cheese from the cooler. Then, I pulled out two types of bread, different condiment bottles, paper plates, and knives from the laundry basket.

“I wasn’t sure what you would want on your ham sandwiches, so I bought a variety of stuff to make our own.”

“That’s really sweet. I’d like ham with lettuce, swiss cheese, and a little mayo, please.” She started grabbing stuff and began putting together her sandwich as I worked on mine. “You won’t judge me if I have two sandwiches, will you?”

“Not at all. You’re eating for two, remember? Plus, I like a girl who can eat.” I could never understand why women ordered just a salad when they went on a date.

She looked over at me as I prepared my sandwich with ham, dijon mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and all three types of cheese.

“That’s a lot of cheese,” she said with a laugh.

“I work out a lot, so I can eat a lot,” I shrugged.

"Me too," she said with a giggle as she patted her growing belly.

"Well, you are eating for two," I said with a laugh, as I got up and grabbed a blanket from the truck. We sat down and ate together while we talked about our day. We even enjoyed some quiet time and watched nearby ducks swimming around. It was so easy to be around her and felt like we had known each other forever.

“Oh! I almost forgot. I made dessert to bring! You inspired it, actually.”

“I inspired it? What is it?” I asked excitedly.

“I’ve been experimenting with a recipe all day trying to make it perfect,” she said as she went to the passenger side of the truck. She brought out her large purse and inside was a small insulated lunch bag. She opened it up to reveal a small container with strawberries and a ziploc bag filled with two small white biscuits. “You’ll have to let me know what you think of it, honestly.”

“You made me strawberry shortcake!” I said with a huge grin, loving that she used my new nickname for her. “Let’s eat it in the bed of the truck."

June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day.

Tyler led me to the back of the pick up truck where there were several blankets and pillows.

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